


Ad Infernum

by turtlecornflake



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-22 02:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6066532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtlecornflake/pseuds/turtlecornflake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Psyche has been cursed to want her lover, Eros, dead whenever she lays her eyes on them. She has come to the Underworld, to complete the final task given to her by Aphrodite, in the hopes of Aphrodite holding up her end of the deal - to rid Psyche of the murderous curse, and to see Eros again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> The story of Psyche and Eros is mildly altered and I imagine this UW is going to differ from 5B depiction, but I tried to make it work.  
> There will be more parts, possibly uploaded non-linearly, regarding Psyche's story up until we meet her in UW.  
> I'm pushing the UW parts out first, due to 5B airing soon.  
> I would appreciate feedback on the flow between dialogue and description. I'm fairly confident in writing dialogue and inner monologue, but I acknowledge that I struggle with atmospheric descriptions, and to a lesser degree, action. Tips and pointers regarding those aspects are welcomed. Critique on character deptions, to an extent, is also welcome.

 

* * *

 

She lost track of time - well, some amount of time ago. With no celestial help to estimate, she can only make an uneducated guess; it's been longer than she cares for.

She shudders and turns her head, thinking she hears something dripping. This place is disgusting, she thinks. It would seem to her that this, level, she assumed it was, was made to strike terror in whoever was foolish enough to venture here. The start of the journey had her walk in familiar surroundings, but they've become gradually more and more twisted. Sickening, even. And the smell! By some ominous force, it's also a fair share darker here, so even if it were a familiar place, she couldn't verify it. It's dank and oddly cold - and she misses seeing the sun. What she wouldn't pay to see a ray of Apollo's light down here.

She looks around, arms clutching her own body as she walks as close to the middle of the path as she can. She hates the idea of touching anything down here, mostly out of fear of what might happen if she does. She could get stuck, or poisoned, or offend the Lord of the Dead somehow, and she would rather just be in and out of here as fast as possible. She still has no idea how she's going to pull that off, though, due to the fact that Aphrodite was very vague about what exactly she is supposed to get for her down here. All she has to go on is a name, and a somewhat location. Persephone, and something about her well. She imagines it must be some kind of water, a liquid, such as she had gotten for Aphrodite before, from a river - but why must it be contained in this particular box? Was it even a liquid, or was it a trinket?  
This task is surely the worst she has set out to complete.

 _What's that_? She definitely hears voices this time and she looks around, quickly, before deciding to hide behind a broad stalagmite, if that is even what it is. She cringes as she nearly touches it, but she has to hunker in close to it so she can't be seen.

A band of, what seems to be, outsiders come into view. She thinks they are oddly dressed, but the Underworld caters to many characters from many walks of life, so she cannot form a certain opinion about these people. She'll just have to wait it out, until they pass, maybe she can overhear them? The two in the middle appear intimate, she deduces, from the man's arm cast around the woman's frame protectively. In the back, trails a few more, she cannot be certain of their affiliations, but they are, from what it appears, not strangers to each other.  
  
The person leading them, a woman, striking to behold and carries herself with strength and determination - the ancient princess wonders if this is the leader of the band. The woman suddenly stops and Psyche hunches, making herself even smaller.

"What was that?" Emma's question sounds less like a question and more like a prompt for someone to go look. When no one responds fast enough, she adds, passive aggressively, "Gold?"  
  
The weathered man inhales a sigh and passes Emma, whose eyes follow him, untrusting. "Not too far ahead," she warns. The last thing she needs is him running off to go be besties with whomever is in charge here.

"Emma? Can we talk, over here, for a sec?" asks Snow, nodding her head to a place a few feet away. She looks concerned, and Emma forces a look of cluelessness. "Are we sure we can trust Gold?" Snow whispers, eyes darting in the direction the old man had wandered off in.

She can only shrug. "I don't like it either, but, I think we're a little low on options and kind of past the point of switching to a plan B, if there ever was one. Like it or not, he's the most powerful one here, and-"

"Emma," Snow breathes. "You have power too."

She knows, and her look conveys it, but she's said all that needs to be said about the issue. She can only offer Snow a mild shrug and walks back to the group, leaving her mother to watch her, unsatisfied and worried.

Judging by their conversation, Psyche wonders if she can ignore Elpis' warning about interacting with anyone down here. If these people are outsiders, and have powers, then maybe they can help her? But the spirit's warning still has her wary of taking that chance. Perhaps, she can talk to them and if they should be unsavoury characters, then she can just continue on her way, can't she?  
  
She straightens up and steps out on the path, standing a little ways behind the group.  
  
"Excuse me? Hello? Did you come from..." she pauses and gestures her index finger upward. Should've thought this through better, she thinks.  
The group does not reply, but a dark-haired woman steps forward and with a movement of her arm, she can feel her throat be constricted, as if by magic, and she is no longer on the ground. _Defintely should have thought this through better_.

"Regina, let her down," says Snow.  
  
"Like hell I am! She could be trying to kill us."  
  
Emma steps forward, warily, eyeing the girl. "Who are you? What do you want?" Answer. Quickly."  
  
The girl struggles in Regina's magical hold, her face turning red and she can't speak. Emma gestures for Regina to set her down, and she reluctantly does so. "Who. Are you? What. Do you want? Last chance to answer."  
  
She rubs at her throat. "My name is Psyche, I came from above some time ago. I didn't want to alarm you, I swear! I just haven't seen a human face down here yet... I thought maybe your group would pose a danger to me, but-"  
  
"Alright. Hold on. Psyche?" Emma turns to the others. Are they really going to face persons from mythology now as well? She supposes it's on level with everything else that's been going on for the past couple of years of her life, but it's always a little unexpected when it occurs. Something you just don't get used to, she figures.  
  
"Yes, Psyche. I'm here to-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just gimme a sec." Emma grants herself a second or two to regroup her brain.  
  
"Sec...?" Psyche mumbles, mostly to herself, unable to surmise what a 'sec' might be. She looks curiously at the fair-haired woman, but also cautiously. Psyche only has her wedding ring to spare, and this could surely not be the time to relinquish it.  
  
The girl seemed fairly harmless, in Emma's opinion and she looked to the others for support, or permission to send Psyche on her merry way alone. Snow had her chronic sympathy face on, Regina looked sceptical and unwilling at best, while the rest seems to avoid Emma's gaze. Except her father.  
  
"Psyche," Charming starts, voice gentle, hand outstretched in a gesture of friendliness and welcome. "may I ask, what are you doing down here?"  
  
She acknowledges the kind man with a nod and a small smile. Someone civilised, at last. "I need something from the lady of this place. My... Matron has tasked me with this box, and to fill it with... something from the lady's well," Psyche explains, a tint of apology in her voice, for bothering the company and for being vague.  
  
"The lady of this place," Regina repeats, interrupts. Her voice drips with question and doubt and she eyes this girl, this Psyche. "I'm sure." She pauses again, taking a step forward, coming up next to Emma. "Forgive me, but you seem a little..." pauses again, arms spread out in a vague gesture at Psyche's attire. It was little simple and homely. "If my memory serves me correctly, you are a princess, and you don't exactly strike me as very regal right now."  
  
"Regina," Snow chides, mildly embarrassed and disappointed in Regina's scepticism.  
  
Psyche looks at what she's wearing. It was indeed humble and ragged. Not at all her usual wardrobe. She shakes her head at the short-haired woman's seeming disapproval of Regina's question. "No, it's a legitimate cause to distrust me... I am, still a princess, I suppose..."  
  
"You suppose?" came Emma's shocked voice.  
  
"It's... complicated," Psyche looked sad, eyes downcast.  
  
"All right, let's just assume you are who you say you are, for now. What do you want from us?" Regina was tired of this conversation.  
  
"Your help?" Psyche looks up, hopeful and humble. "My task... I don't know how I will complete it alone. If you were to help me, I would offer my help in return, with... whatever you people are here for..."  
  
Snow looks at Charming, admittedly a little delighted that someone was offering help. Robin comes up to stand beside Regina. "Thoughts?" he asks, whispers.  
  
Regina sneers. "I don't know yet." She eyes the girl again. "She might be harmless," she says, her defence coming down a little and her whole posture seems a little softer. "Emma?"  
  
Emma takes a few moments to deliberate, eyeballing the others' expressions, before she looks at Psyche. "You haven't by any chance seen a man, about this tall, hook for a hand down here, have you?" It's a long-shot, but she'll take any shot at this point.  
  
Psyche thinks, then shakes her head. "No men. No hooks. I think I saw a gargoyle, but, alas..." she shrugs, a little helplessly, disappointed she can't help them more.  
  
"Figures," mutters Emma, though she had already anticipated that Psyche wouldn't have seen Killian.  
  
"Your expression... This man.. you love him, don't you?" Psyche asks, gently.  
  
It stumps Emma, still, even now, to acknowledge it and admit to others that she loves him. But she nods, and her eyes meet Psyche. "I do. And I'm here to bring him back. Kicking and screaming, if I have to." The latter is said in such a tone that even Psyche understands that Emma is serious, but not about the kicking and screaming part. She wants her beloved back with her. Psyche can relate, and she smiles.  
  
"My service is yours," she declares softly, offering her hand to Emma, who cautiously takes it. Psyche feels an emotional attachment and for a few moments, her own task down here is set aside, to make room for sympathy.  
  
"So, who is it you're here to see, again? You mentioned a lady?" Emma says, a little sudden, feeling that the moment got a little too intense.  
  
Psyche nods. "Yes. There is a lady dwelling here... Persephone. I don't know exactly what, but I need something from her well - but I don't know where it is, what it looks like, or what exactly I'm looking for. All I have is this box to put it in."  
  
"Perfect," Emma shares, eyebrows briefly lifted. She shakes them down and looks back at the others. "Where's Gold?" she asks, alarmed, realising he's not back yet.


	2. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Psyche has been cursed to want her lover, Eros, dead whenever she lays her eyes on them. She has come to the Underworld, to complete the final task given to her by Aphrodite, in the hopes of Aphrodite holding up her end of the deal - to rid Psyche of the murderous curse, and to see Eros again.

The group rushes, it seems urgent about this Gold, whoever that is, to Psyche. She begins to hurry after them so she won't be left behind, and just as they round a corner, they come upon a man waiting, casually checking his pocket watch.  
  
It's Emma that sighs first. "Gold."  
  
"You didn't think I'd run off, did you?"  
  
"What, you? Run off and betray us?" Emma iterates, as if the concept was foreign and unthinkable. "Never crossed my mind," she finishes, in a tone that even Psyche can translate. This man must be, or have been, untrustworthy.  
  
"A friend?" she asks anyway, mostly directed at Emma, though she hears the group groan avoidantly and murmur bitter words under their breaths.  
  
At this, Emma responds with a chuckle, and it seems to surprise the rest of her companions, because they all go silent. The blonde leader turns to Psyche after a moment, the intention is to shake her head, but it comes out half assed. "Not all the time," she ends up replying, and Psyche's eyebrows move up a little, puzzled, but content enough to not ask any further questions. It must be complicated, she figures, and decides that it's fair of Emma to not elaborate.  
  
"Let's keep going," she urges her company, and Psyche obediently follows as well, but not before quickly casting a glance at this mysterious Gold character. Lingering a second, she eventually draws her attention forward and falls into step beside Emma.  
  
"I presume your name is Emma?" Psyche asks, their distance to the rest of the group giving them the chance to talk properly, finally. Emma then looks at Psyche, a little alarmed, perhaps suspicious. Psyche adds, "I heard the others called you that before."  
  
"Oh right. Yeah, Emma. Emma Swan." No harm giving her last name, right? This was a Greek myth princess? Not likely a stalker that'll show up at her house later. If she ever gets home, that is, with Killian, to live in their new home, together. Emma looks sadder suddenly.  
  
Psyche, however, is very taken and makes wide eyes. "Swan... a truly blessed name. Swans are favoured by Apollo, and sacred to him." Psyche smiles. "I believe you will find your love again, Emma. You are being watched over by the Deities and Apollo will surely shine on you and give you good fortune - even down here, where it is dark and cold. He wouldn't abandon you."  
  
Despite how unrealistic it sounds, Emma finds herself a little bit cheered up by it, even though the realist in her finds Psyche's babble a little, well, hard to put faith in. But enough about herself. She's allowed Psyche into their group, temporarily, but she can't be sure about her. "So. You. What's your story? What brings you down here?"  
  
Ah. There it is. Psyche nods faintly, at nothing in particular, other than acknowledging the unavoidable questions from Emma. It's fair. "I fell in love. My father, the King, did not approve, so we ran away, my lover and I. We found a nice place, in the forest, by a lake... it was perfect. Until one night, something came over me. A curse." She can't make herself say what the curse did to her. What she did, almost did, to Eros. Psyche blinks a few times, distraught by the memory of her fate. "So I sought help from Aphrodite, and I've been given tasks I must do before she'll help me. This is the last one, coming here, getting something from Persephone. If she had only told me what it was..." Psyche sighs, her shoulders sinking a little, but she lifts her chin up.  
  
Emma watches her tell her tale, her mind wandering a little, but remains in the moment enough to hear what Psyche says. It sounds familiar. Close to home. Like a story you've heard too many times. "Persephone? Is she powerful?"  
  
The ancient princess nods. "I would assume yes. Long ago, the lord of the dead, brought her here. I doubt she is the same as she was in the land above. Being here too long corrupts you. Changes you. I wouldn't expect her to be kind or understanding. It is likely I face an impossible task... but Hope is with me. I must see it through."  
  
It worries Emma to hear that this place can have a negative effect on a person. There's been too much of that already, not just for her, but for everyone she loves. She looks ahead, at her mother, her head, how it leans against Charming's arm. It's so brief, yet so important - to treasure what you got while it's there. Even Robin is brushing some water, or whatever kind of goo it is, off Regina's jacket. Henry is chatting with Mr. Gold, a very animated conversation, it seems, and despite her distrust and negative view on Gold, she has to smile. Her son, the truest believer, is so strong, she thinks proudly. So far, everyone seems the same.  
  
"Regina and I-"  
  
"Regina? Oh! The woman who did the..." Psyche imitates the gesture of the hand thing Regina did when she held her in a magical choke hold.  
  
Emma smiles a little, amused by Psyche but also a little apologetic. "Yeah, her. Me and her, we have, well, magic powers? Mr. Gold, over there, he... does too. Robin, he has, pretty much flawless aim, as does Snow."  
  
Psyche pays attention and feels hope rejuvenating. "Who are all these people? Friends?" she asks, amazed. This Emma Swan has so many blessings, Psyche has never met anyone so blessed.  
  
"Family," Emma corrects, after a moment to decide which word fits best. For better or worse, they are undeniably family. Even Gold, though Emma still wants to throw him into the nearest burning lake. But he's Neal's father, and Neal didn't come out entirely wrong. She's tired of losing the people she loves. She's tired of the price always being blood and suffering and torment. It ends now.  
  
"Even better," says Psyche. With a strong, powerful family, everything seems to be laid out spelling success for Emma.  
  
"So, I'm thinking... we could hold her off. Rattle the cage, so to speak, while you, I dunno, zip in and find what you need?" Though she has no idea if, or how, powerful this Persephone is - or if they can even find her down her. However, past experience tells Emma that the bad guy usually shows up if you mention them enough, or jinx it by thinking they won't show up, or by just plain making a lot of racket and see who comes running to stop them.  
  
"That might work. Though, I do not know how or where to find her." Psyche watched the crowd ahead, smiling a little at the boy. He looks young, but strikes her as stronger than he looks. Everyone has a purpose, even the young and small.  
  
Emma looks dead ahead. "If she's trouble, _she'll_ find _us_."

* * *

"Stop," Regina says suddenly. "We've been walking for a long time and we're not getting anywhere. Does nobody else find this a little strange?"  
Snow looks to Emma, and Emma looks suddenly worried.  
  
Psyche looks around - this place seems no more menacing than it did earlier, but it is strange that they have seemed to just walk around endlessly, without aim. "Do you suppose it's something unnatural at work?" she asks the group, looking at Emma and Regina.  
  
"You suppose correctly, mortal," a voice replies, but it's no one in the company. They all look around, trying to locate the source. From seemingly out of nowhere, a misty silhouette walks out from the air and becomes more and more solid with each threatening step. Eventually, she stands before the group, a blue-green fire crackling beneath her feet, illuminating the long, dark train of her dress. She's taller than everyone in the group and her hair is long and bears the colour of soil and her crown is harsh and jagged - woven of dead twigs and dried leaves.  
  
Regina takes a step forward, Emma and Gold stand in front of the rest, but they are incapacitated with a wave of the imposing woman's hand.  
  
She moves around the group, studying them. She stops beside Gold and begins to smile. "Oh, you're a delicious one, aren't you. Everyone better watch their backs," she says, voice chilling and would sound mocking, if it weren't for how true her words rang to the majority of the group. She sashays over to Emma and Regina, eyes going between the two before grinning. "My, my... quite the powerful little ensemble of fools we've got here." She pauses, leaning in to smell Regina's hair. Robin darts forward, but it thrown back by a wave of the woman's hand. His back hits the wall and he slides down, unmoving. "Might actually pose some competition," she adds to her previous statement.  
  
"Robin!" Regina shouts, and struggles to be free. The other woman tuts at her, giving her a taunting grin. "You are going to regret hurting him, you bit-"  
  
"Ah ah. None of that," says the woman and puts her finger to Regina's lips. "Shhhh, human." She moves over to Emma. It seems like she's gliding.  
  
"Who are you?" asks Psyche, fuelled by sudden bravery. The other woman lets go of Emma's hair and comes closer. Psyche stands her ground, breathing heavily and tries to conceal her fear.  
  
The woman sniffs the air in front of Psyche's face. "You have the stench of Aphrodite on you. Who are you? Tell me, who has she sent to their doom this time?"  
  
She bites her teeth together, shivering at the woman's proximity and leans her head back a little, to gain some space. "I am Psyche."  
  
The woman laughs suddenly, almost knowingly. Her laugh is an airy cackle and it unnerves the princess greatly.  
  
"Who are you?" Psyche repeats, voice shaking, but impatient.  
  
"Well, I am Persephone, of course," she gestures elegantly with her arms, her grin intensifying for a moment, before it fades away. She leans in again. "Oh, my dear Psyche..." she traces a knuckle down the princess' temple and cheek. "I can't tell you how amusing it's been to watch you and your friends wander around, but I'll give you a chance. Aphrodite doesn't send anyone here without reason, and I'm in the mood for some fun, so I shall actually let you try. Find me again. See if you can best me. Oh, I really hope you'll come. I'm just dying to see you again." She backs away from Psyche and addresses the group. "See you later," she whispers ominously and waves daintily before vanishing in a dark cloud.  
  
Finally free, Regina runs to Robin and Emma grabs Henry, checking if he's alright. Snow rubs her neck a little and looks at Charming, a look of puzzle and worry.  
  
"Are we going to go find her?" Henry asks, earning a shocked and concerned look from Emma. But she mellows after a second and looks at Snow and Regina before turning her head to Psyche.  
  
"She's powerful," Emma shares, her voice conveying uncertainty of whether or not this would be a good idea.  
  
"But so are you, mom. And... mom." He points to Regina. "And Mr. Gold. So she got the best of you this time, but you were ambushed. With some planning, you could so take her."  
  
Emma isn't quite sure, but Henry's not entirely wrong either.  
  
Psyche worries that they'll abandon their offer to help her and she steps up to the group and intends to plead her case, but glancing at them, all in a state of comforting and checking if the other is okay, she halts. She feels bad about asking this of them, who don't even know her, and most likely don't trust her.  
  
"I can go alone," she says, not entirely convinced, but nonetheless.  
  
Emma looks at her, like she's crazy. "No. No... I mean, we'll help. We said we would."  
  
"Technically, _you_ said _you_ would," Regina corrects, dabbing the back of Robin's head with a handkerchief.  
  
Henry gives Regina a look, like he's fed up with her negative attitude. And he is, but he won't say it. "I can stay here with Robin. You guys go ahead. The sooner, the better, right? Then we can go look for Hook."  
  
Emma's look gives away her agreeing with Henry. She looks to the rest, Snow and Charming nod, Robin looks to Regina.  
  
"Go. I'll be fine. I'm just a little dizzy. Henry and I will have a grand old time, won't we, son?"  
  
Regina doesn't look too convinced, but the Henry's hand on her shoulder calms her a little. She sighs and stands up. "Fine, I'm in. Let's just get this over with. I want to hurt that bit-"  
  
" _All right_ ," Snow interrupts, "we get it, Regina. But shouldn't we have some sort of battle plan first? Emma?"  
  
"Right. Henry gave me an idea."  
  
"I did?"  
  
"Yeah. You said she ambushed us? We were distracted. How about we do the same to her. You follow me?"  
  
Snow begins to smile, slowly.  
  
"A diversion," says Robin. "That might work."


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been sick for a week and had some personal issues the week before - so I've rushed this to get it out before 5B (at least where I live. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. This is it from UW, but I will be writing more about Psyche, both before and after UW.  
> Enjoy 5B ^_^

"This has to be it," says Emma, determined, but looks at Regina for some sort of confirmation. The older woman looks at her, eyes wondering what the heck Emma is looking at _her_ for. Emma shrugs, head tilted. She figures a former Evil Queen would know. Regina's upper lip curls and she just shakes her head at Emma's weird logic.  
  
"If it is, then she's got... interesting taste," Regina judges, as she pokes a pile of rotting leaves with her boot, her face drawn in a slightly disgusted expression.

The whole place seems to be in a state of decay, some places more, some places less, and there seems to be traces of a building hidden underneath layers upon layers of vines and other crawling shrubbery. The ground is no longer stoney, but rather covered in heather and moss, in various stages of colour and discolour.

Emma pokes at some of the vines, and finds that some of them are green and vibrant. She looks to Snow, a little confused.  
  
"A sign of her mother missing her," says Psyche suddenly. "It's written, in the old tales, that they were separated - mother and daughter. The lord of this place took her, and so we have the different seasons. Winter, she is down here, spring is when she returns, summer is when they are together, and autumn is her mother saying goodbye to her." She sounds sad. Many tales of the Deities are sad and harsh - much like her own has become, yet she is only mortal, so for her, the toil can be fatal, yet only temporary.  
  
Snow's hand clutches Charming's a little tighter, her heart is gripped with the story, as it hits her very close to home. Emma meets her eyes, finding it a little awkward, but also meaningful.  
  
"All right, everyone remember their positions?" Emma asks, breaking up the somber tension that emerged. The group nods before Snow and Charming split off and find their position. Regina stands firmly, hands spread out, ready. "Gold, you know where to be?" Emma looks at him, distrusting, but she needs him. He's their trump card.  
  
The old man nods. "You don't need to worry about me," he says, tone ambiguous, but friendly enough. He walks off, ahead of them.  
  
Remaining, is Emma and Psyche, and Emma looks at the other woman, seriously. "All right, I'm going to follow you, as far as I can, hopefully all the way, if we're lucky. You just worry about getting whatever it is you need from the well, and we'll take care of any obstacles, and I have a hunch there'll be a few..."  
  
Psyche nods, agreeing with the plan. "Thank you, so much, Emma."  
  
"Don't thank me yet," the blonde says, a little ominously. She imagines this could go either way. "Thank me if we succeed," she explains.  
  
"When," Psyche corrects, and the women share a quick smile.  
  
"Looks like we're up," Emma tells Psyche and the pair walk on forward, past the grandiose entrance. Sounds of creaking and tussling follow them, and it smells heavily of wet grass and leaves - as if there had just been a rain shower. Emma readies her hands, feeling the tension rise in her, along with fear. She wonders if she'll ever lose that sensation of being a rookie with her powers. Just as she gets a hold of it, there's a shift and she has to re-learn everything.  
  
Psyche looks around, anxious, but bold - the feeling this place gives her is not good. Suddenly, a leafy, leathery sound is heard and Emma falls forward and is then dragged. "Emma!" Quickly, Psyche throws herself down to grab a hold of Emma's hands before she rolls to a sit and braces her legs against the mossy ground. It's wet, and smells like a rotting bog, and it feels like Emma's hands are going to slide from her grasp - but Psyche leans forward and grabs a new hold around Emma's wrists. "I've got you. I won't let go," she assures the blonde woman and begins to heave herself back, resisting the pull of the vines that have grabbed Emma by her ankles.  
  
They hear a whizzing sound and the hold around one of Emma's legs weaken enough for her to get her foot free and she struggles to hold on to Psyche. Another zipping sound and the second vine weakens. Emma and Psyche look up and find Snow looking down on them, lowering her bow with a grin. Emma smiles back and looks to Psyche. "Come on, we gotta move. She's got the vines covered," she says, with not just a little pride.  
  
Psyche gives a quick bow of thanks to the bow wielding woman - she has much adoration for the craft. She and Emma run ahead, deciding to get as quickly as possible away from any other plants that might have it in for them - until suddenly, a thorny wall blocks their path. Psyche feebly begins to try and make her way through, but the thorns cut her viciously and she is pulled away by Emma.  
  
"Let me try," Emma says and holds her hands out. _Light magic, don't fail me now_ , she thinks with a deep inhale and exhale. Her hands glow but nothing happens and her faith falters a little. She starts again, fiercely, and out from her hands shoot a bright beam of light and it begins to burn a hole in the wall. Through the hole, she can see a well, covered in many flowers and it seems to be completely untouched by decay and rot. "There it is, I see the well!"  
  
Psyche runs forward to go through the hole, but Emma shouts for her to wait. Psyche turns around and sees a large venus fly trap come up behind Emma and she screams for Emma to watch out. Then, from somewhere behind the overgrown flower, it is being blasted with something. It whips around and faces Regina, magic glowing from her hands.  
  
"You go on. I've got this one," she says confidently and smirks up at the plant.  
  
Emma nods and runs through the hole, after Psyche. They are nearly at the well, when a silhouette walks out.  
  
"Persephone," Emma breathes, disappointed and annoyed. Of course she would appear now. "This all you got?" she asks, bluntly and gives the tall, creepy lady a challenging look.  
  
Persephone laughs. "You seem to be under the impression that I bother with mortals? Darling, I only ever treat you like toys, for my own amusement."  
  
" _Some hobby_ ," Emma snipes under her breath, looking sour. She's disappointed with the effort they've wasted.  
  
"Life down here gets so dreadfully dull, it's to die for," Persephone replies, dryly, but obviously amused with herself. "And when my dear friend Aphrodite sends her willing fools down here, why, how can I resist?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Psyche pipes in - the tone in Persephone's voice making her second-guess the task Aphrodite gave her.  
  
"Oh, the poor child thinks she's the first to get this task," Persephone taunts, and laughs. She tuts. "My, my my... you couldn't mistake me for an ass, could you? You see, Aphrodite has been sending young dumbards down here quite a number of times - all with the same task; to take something from my well." She points a long finger toward the lovely, overgrown well, smirking. "Do you know what she wants from it?"  
  
Psyche shakes her head. "She didn't say." She's mad. Mad for believing Aphrodite ever meant to hold up her deal. There probably was no deal. She never meant to help her. It was all a plot to send her here, to her likely doom. "She just gave me this, to carry it in," she adds after a pause, holding out the box Aphrodite had bestowed on her.  
  
Persephone grins. "Ah... Aphrodite. The vain, but captivating Aphrodite. You want to know what she wants from me?" she asks Psyche, and the mortal girl nods. "Youth. Youth and beauty. The essence of rejuvenation, life, blossoming and pure, undiluted natural beauty. That's what my well holds. Everything that makes the world come alive in springtime, she wishes to use upon herself so she can be even lovelier."  
  
Psyche looks mildly shocked. All of this, for that?  
  
Persephone nods. "Right? Isn't Aphrodite just a stinker? Aw, I know, sweetie, she made you do all that hard labour for nothing, in the end. She probably offered you something in return? Hm? Oh, would you let me hear it? She comes up with such amusing deals..."  
  
Psyche looks down, saddened that all of this was a sham. She regretted listening to Elpis, up on that cliff. "She said she would rid me of the curse I'm under."  
  
"Curse, what curse? Do tell," the lady more or less begs, though it is very much insincere.  
  
"A murderous curse - to want my lover dead whenever I set my eyes upon them," her voice trembles and she looks to Emma. Her blonde companion looks a mix between gutted and shocked and maybe a little bit alarmed. Psyche looks upon Persephone again.  
  
"And... who might your lover be," she asks, leaning closer to Psyche.  
  
"Eros," the girl replies shortly, her eyes meeting Persephone's - who suddenly laughs.  
  
"Oh, this is just keeps getting better," she cackles and seems thoughtful for a few seconds.   
  
Psyche agonises over Persephone's taunts until it breaks her demure surface. In desperation, she cries out to her, pleading. "Please, I implore you, mistress of spring, bringer of life and wellness to the world. I beg for your help. My hope rests upon you!" Her pleas only seem to amuse the Goddess even further, and her laughter feels unbearable. Her face drawn smug and unfeeling. Psyche fights to not sob.  
  
"Why _should_ I? You offer me nothing, and I have long waited for the chance to vex Aphrodite further. Though, my garden does appreciate the showers," she smiles eerily, gesturing at the weeping princess' tears.   
  
The ancient royalty does not wipe away her tears, instead, she steadies her stance and looks at Persephone with confusion, and a hint of disappointment. "What has become of you? Has the Underworld poisoned you so much that you cannot even conjure a shred of sympathy? What happened to you?"   
  
The girl's questions stops her short in her amusement and she glares, albeit weakly at the suddenly less meek princess. "Watch your mouth, mortal. You have no business asking me that," she hisses, but the anger belies the vulnerable truth that she so desperately hides. "I should just end your short life, right now."  
  
In that moment, Regina and Gold run in.  
"You can try, and fail," Regina adds, warns, had it with the drama. She can recognise Persephone's type anywhere. She used to be that type.   
  
Persephone turns her head, just a little, glaring at Regina. "Worry less about me, and more about your lover." Her threat is simple, but it obviously unsettles the mouthy witch, because she quiets. "Did you enjoy my little garden?" she asks, eyeing the two powerful humans. Except human was a little liberal in one of their cases.  
  
Regina sneers. "I don't know - it looked like it needed a little weeding," she gestures through the hole, where the plant is seen, lying on the ground, shredded to pieces and partially on fire.  
  
"What a clever little gardener," Persephone coos eerily, apparently not at all bothered. She looks to Gold, as if surprised to see him. "You brought your delicious friend."  
  
"Friend? Hardly," Regina snorts, rejecting absolutely the idea of ever being Gold's friend again.  
  
"No, I would suppose not," the lady agrees ominously, eyeing Gold, before turning to Psyche again.   
  
Before the Goddess can threaten her again, Psyche tries one more time to make her understand. "Please... have mercy. Perhaps it is a fool's errand, perhaps Aphrodite will show me the door without lending her help - but I'm standing here, before you, asking you, worshipful Persephone, Goddess of green leaves and blooming flowers, to please shine your mercy upon me - a lowly mortal who is of no threat or opposition to you." Psyche takes trembling, but bold steps forward, her eyes red and scared, seeking sympathy with the formidable and haunting Goddess in front of her. Her hope rests in there remaining a semblance of who Persephone used to be, buried somewhere inside her. A place untouched by the gruesome, vile and awful feeling that seems to penetrate everything down here.   
  
The Goddess stalls, and she begins to pace. "Your simpering has ignited something in me. It's almost like I want to give you a chance."  
  
"Psyche, don't listen to her!" Emma warns, suddenly. This sounds all too familiar.   
  
Ignoring the blonde mortal, Persephone continues. "Every time Aphrodite sends someone down here, unfortunate things happens and the subjects just never seem to make it back home - but you... I'll fill your box with the essence Aphrodite seeks, and not only that, but I'll send you home, safely. Maybe the shock of seeing you alive will sway our lovely Aphrodite's heart."  
  
"She's tricking you!" Emma cries out, distrusting of Persephone. She sounds just like Gold.  
  
"Hush, mortal," she says, pinching her fingers together, making Emma's voice vanish."So? Do we have a deal."  
  
"What is it you want in return? Surely you want something. I will give it to you, freely." Psyche wants to hear all the terms before she decides. She made a promise to help Emma find the one she loves - and she won't abandon it so easily.  
  
The tall woman circles the young maiden. "Give me your wedding ring, that's all I ask for. No need for the ferryman to have it - the symbol of your true love. Hand it to me, instead, and you shall be free."  
  
Psyche deliberates. It doesn't sound like a bad deal. There's still the issue of Aphrodite possibly fooling her and having absolutely no intention of ridding her from the curse - but if she takes Persephone's deal, then she can return to land above, with her life intact, and also with the box containing what Aphrodite wants. It might be possible to bargain with Aphrodite, if she returns alive and with the gift. She could be worse off. She could be stuck here forever.  
  
"Emma, I'm sorry. I have to do this."  
  
Emma struggles to speak, but can't. She approaches Psyche and tries to pantomime why this is a bad idea, but is interrupted by Persephone laughing. Regina decides to translate. She sighs. "What she is...trying to say...is that it's always a trick. You can't know that this, _thing_ , will keep her end of the deal."  
  
Psyche looks apologetically at them both. She takes Emma's hands in her own. "I know. It may be that she's tricking me, and it may be that Aphrodite is tricking me, too, but I have to take that chance. It's for _love_. If I didn't try, I wouldn't be capable of living with myself, either way." She searches Emma's eyes for understanding, and there's a flicker of it. Emma's shoulders sink a little. "I'm so sorry I can't honour my promise, _this time_. If I make it out of this alive, I will find a way to help you. I _promise_. It might not seem like much now, since I might be going to my doom... but nonetheless."  
  
She embraces Emma, and Regina sighs. Gold is quiet. Letting go of Emma, she turns to Persephone and gives her the box. She turns to the others again, to say farewell.  
  
Meanwhile, Persephone has gone over to the well to fill the box, and comes back, handing it to Psyche. "Now, your wedding ring."  
  
Psyche slides it off her finger, looking sad and pained as she does so. This is the second time, and probably last time she will ever give away her ring, or even look upon it. The symbol of her bond with Eros would now reside in the Underworld. Biting her lip, she hands it over, looking away. Persephone smiles.  
  
"Now, don't look in the box - for once it's opened, there's no stopping the essence and it will be lost. Keep the box closed. Do not open it. I cannot stress that enough."  
Psyche nods and holds the box tightly to her chest. Persephone waves her hand at the girl and she seems to be enveloped in twigs made of mist and an orange glow. Then she is gone. Persephone gives Emma her voice back, and Emma looks to Regina and Gold, wondering how the hell they had just let all this happen.  
  
"Where did you send her?" Emma demands to know.  
  
"Home, of course," Persephone replies, with a growing smirk. "Run along now, before I lose my patience. I do not suffer mortals for too long at a time. You are fun, but also full of annoying questions."  
  
"Where's Hook?" Emma asks, stubbornly, ignoring what the lady just said.  
  
"Who~?" she replies with a question, before she vanishes in a smoke just like the one she just sent Psyche through.  
  
After she's gone, Emma lets out an annoyed and frustrated sound, and the next moment, Snow and Charming come through the hole in the thorny wall.  
  
"What happened? Where's Psyche?" asks Charming, looking around.  
  
"The so-called princess took the first deal she was offered and was sent home," says Regina, unimpressed. She had been against this from the start, and with good reason.  
  
Emma has run over to the well and leans over it, looking in. "You guys..."  
  
Snow and the others look up and step closer. Coming up to the well, they all lean over to peek in, but find nothing. Not even a reflection. "It's empty?" Snow says, looking between Emma and Charming, confusion on her face.  
  
"Then...what did she put in the box?" Regina asks, and they all look at each other, puzzled and worried.


	4. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Psyche has been cursed to want her lover, Eros, dead whenever she lays her eyes on them. She has come to the Underworld, to complete the final task given to her by Aphrodite, in the hopes of Aphrodite holding up her end of the deal - to rid Psyche of the murderous curse, and to see Eros again.

The sound of birds singing is what wakes her up, and her attire feels moist. She blinks back the sleep and looks down, finding her hands supporting her weight on a patch of soft moss, prickled with both pale and vibrant flowers so she deduces that must have slept here, but she is unsure for how long.  
  
The Underworld feels like a far off memory, yet the sensations and smells feel very recent, too recent, in her body. Psyche sits up fully and looks around. This Land is unmistakably her homeland and the notion causes her to smile. However, it isn't long until she remembers her task and she lifts up the box lying beside her, holding it up and watches it gleam in the glowing threads from Apollo. A soft wind grips at her dark hair and she allows herself to be lost in thought for a few fleeting moments.  
  
Bringing this box to Aphrodite seems simpler now that it's in her hands with the notion that it holds what the Goddess seeks. Then again, Psyche worries that she will really have been taken for a fool by Aphrodite and there never was any intention to lift this curse from her. Another nagging question is who cursed her, and why. A tear slips down as she feels she has caused irreparable damage and will never find forgiveness from Eros, or the Gods, for her crime. Even if she can find a way to tear this curse from herself, that will still not undo what she has done, or attempted to do and failed.  
  
She stews in these thoughts, pitying herself for this unkind fate, but also for having very little choice in the matter of whom she can trust. Aphrodite only wanted this essence and lured her with a tempting promise to deliver her from the curse that holds her. Persephone was tainted and changed from her time in the Underworld, so her allegiance was not easily gained or shared, and she is no friend of Aphrodite, so her interest in her plight is troubling. Looking back, Psyche believes the only one she was right to truly trust, might have been Emma. Emma who was kind enough to divert her time and strength from her own task, to help her. She truly intends to keep her promise to Emma. One day. If she survives this. She inhales slowly, her lungs feeling stronger, and she gazes at the box.  
  
She wonders what the essence of youth and beauty looks like. She imagines it's shining and glimmering, like liquid silver, perhaps? Or is it like a fragrant mist that you inhale? Maybe it's like dust, like pollen from a sweet flower, that you can bake into a tasty bread and consume? It's difficult to resist theorising and fantasising about it and she turns the box over and around between her finger tips many times. She traces the gilded edges and her eyes become transfixed upon the small flip lock until she's unable to hold back any longer. She must know. She must see it.  
  
Biting her lip, she inhales quickly, sharply, one time, before she flips open the lid and looks inside. From within the box, it's almost like a daunting sigh or gasp is heard, and a fog seems to come at her. It smells almost floral, and that's all the room she has for thought before she falls into a deep, cold, unrelenting sleep.  
  


***

  
  
She stares into her well, an indiscernible look on her face. An image of Psyche is caught in the water and like she predicted, the foolish, cursed girl opened the box. Curiosity is a powerful thing and often the first trap that mortals fall prey to. Even the Gods too, sometimes. Persephone sighs a little, wondering what this feeling is. Perhaps disappointment? Perhaps a lack of satisfaction that her bet came true?  
  
"What I tell ya?"  
  
She shivers at the sound of his voice, and visibly curls away from him when he leans over her shoulder. He tuts and it grates deep into her bones.  
  
"She's been through a lot." She's not excusing her, or maybe she is, but it's meant as a neutral statement.  
  
"Hasn't everyone?!" He laughs and steps away after brushing his cheek against her neck and shoulder. "Come. Finish up here. I have something to show you."  
  
She continues to gaze into the well, looking somewhere between disappointed and disenchanted. She waves her hand over the water in the well and it clouds over. The smoke travels through what separates their worlds and engulfs the sleeping Psyche, transporting her to Aphrodite's temple.  
  


***

  
  
The sun beats down on a simple building, with tall arches lining the walls on three sides, letting the air flow freely through the halls. The fourth wall is a block of sand colored stone that holds three south-going corridors with rooms where sick and wounded come to heal peacefully.  
  
A young woman walks down the hall past the arches, carrying a basket with fresh cloth. Behind her is a girl carrying a clay basin of water. They turn to the right and continue down the third corridor, to the room at the very end. The room is filled with sunlight and the breeze makes the leaves of the ficus move gently.  
  
The woman on the bed is trying to sit up.  
  
"Help her," the older of the two working there commands, gesturing for the younger helper to hurry. She assists the woman on bed rest while the older woman prepares the water with scented oils and medicinal plants.  
  
"Thank you," says the bandaged woman, hoarsely, before clearing her throat. "How many days has it been?"  
  
The young maid looks at her queerly, then glances at the older maid. "Um, my lady, it's been nearly a month."  
  
Eros makes wide eyes. Has it been that long already? It feels like she only just shut her eyes. Her thoughts run to that night, the vacant, murderous look in her beloved Psyche's eyes, and how the air that had previously smelled sweet suddenly smelled of sweat and blood. Her own blood. She looks down and lightly touches the bandages that wrap around her chest. There are also bandages on her arms and neck. She feels ill, suddenly, and cold, remembering that night. She should have been dead, but by the grace of the Gods, she could not die.  
  
The older of the women comes over with the clay basin and sets it down on the bed and begins to unwrap the bandages. Eros stares at the basin. Once again, she is taken back to that fateful night when Psyche tried to kill her. It seems so strange to her, that her beloved should suddenly hate her so and want her dead. She can't understand it, even as she revisits that night in her mind. It feels like a dream. A very bad dream, but instead of waking up to find Psyche in her arms, she is here, in this house of healing, and it all feels very real and actual.  
  
While her mind has wandered, the woman has finished undressing the wounds when she stops, and looks surprised. "Is something wrong?" asks Eros, concerned.  
  
"My lady, your wounds, they've healed. There's no trace of them. It's like they've been washed clear off. "  
  
Eros looks down and finds it to be true. There is no evidence of harm ever coming to her. She is, of course, relieved, but cannot explain why this is. "Lucky me?" she attempts, looking at the two handmaidens, sheepishly. Divinity was no doubt a big part of it, but how to explain that without raising more questions and possibly developing into a chaotic scene. Better to just let them mull over it for a while, giving her time to slip out. They gather their things and take their leave, mumbling about asking the patron of this place is he has any idea what has happened. Eros is left on her bed and pulls a sheet up to cover herself.  
  
She is about to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, when she finds herself looking at another young woman - except the quality of her seems different. Eros understands, and relaxes her face, but her body accepts readiness. "You're not human."  
  
Elpis shakes her head, confirming. "I am called Elpis, and I bring you news about Psyche."  
  
"Psyche? You know what became of her? Tell me, immediately. I must know." Eros sits straighter now, ready to spring off the bed at a moment's notice.  
  
The spirit nods gravely. "She was tasked to go to the Underworld, and retrieve an impossible gift from Persephone."  
  
Eros looks at Elpis, having expected something more grave. She looks puzzled. "That should be not too impossible. Persephone is benevolent, she'll–"  
  
"I fear she no longer is. That place, and Hades, has begun to affect her. She is no longer herself. Psyche encountered her and–"  
  
It was Eros' turn to interrupt. "Are you saying Psyche went there? Is she all right? Is she still there? How do you know all this?" Her questions are said in haste and fear is in her eyes.  
  
"I know all this because I'm always where I'm needed. She couldn't see me, but she could feel me. She was brave, and foolish, but she did not spend all her trust carelessly. There were people there who helped her. She made deal with Persephone, but fell for a trick. She is now under a sleeping curse, in Aphrodite's temple."  
  
The bronze-skinned Deity stands up from the bed, clutching the sheets to her body to maintain her modesty. "Then we must go there, at once!" she exclaims. "Where are my belongings," she asks in a mumble, beginning to move around the room trying to locate her clothes and artifacts. She finds them, at last, neatly folded on a chair in the corner. Tilted up against the chair is her bow and quiver and she manages a smile before she begins to dress herself.  
  


***

  
  
Eros looks up at the temple, shielding her eyes from the the bright disc in the sky. It was slowly setting, but the rays were still sore on the eye and Eros decides that she's missed the sun, nonetheless. Her body welcomes the warm sunlight, having been deprived of it for so long, while she was healing. Healing from the mortal wounds that Psyche infliced on her. She looks to Elpis, beside her.  
  
"How did it come to this?" she asks, not quite sad, but mourning the happiness and love she misses.  
  
The spirit of Hope exhales softly. Psyche cannot be blamed, she thinks. All she had done was trust the wrong people, and Goddesses. "She's in there now, and she needs you."  
  
She has to settle for vague answers for now, but she attempts one last time, to get information. "How do I break a curse like this?"  
  
"Believe that your love is true. True love will always win," Elpis replies, giving Eros a soft smile.  
  
"Will she try to kill me again?" she asks, and it's a fair concern.  
  
"I fear so."  
  
Eros finds no comfort in that, and gives Elpis a look, like this cannot be how it's supposed to end. "What do I do then?"  
  
"Have hope, Eros. Believe in your love." In the next moment, the spirit was gone and Eros was left feeling unsatisfied. She still didn't know exactly what to do, and was told that all she needed to do was believe and have hope. It, somehow, filled her with worry, but she starts up the stairs in to the temple, breathing evenly and bow clasped bravely in her hand.


	5. Final Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is is, for this arc. I hope to be writing a prequel soon, dealing more with the previous tasks Psyche had to do before she came to the Underworld. Hopefully, someone has enjoyed this - and look forward to more. I've played with the idea of writing more about the Olympians but I'll have to figure out how to OUAT-ify them first. Maybe one day, some of them will find their way to Storybrooke... who knows! 
> 
> Take care, until next time.

She exhales as she climbs the final step and comes to a halt - the sun glaring down on her back as she views the entrance of the temple. It's not an exhale of exhaustion, she cannot grow tired, but more a sigh of anticipation and worry. Straight in there she could go, and find her love, Psyche, only a few more steps - and then what? What will she meet? If she can somehow rouse Psyche from her cursed sleep, what happens then? Will she meet her love's gaze, only to see it cloud with lust for murder again? It's lucky she can't die, but injuries by a cursed hand still did some damage, putting her out of commision for nearly a month. She grimaces, buckles herself mentally, and proceeds through the arches and into the cool temple.  
  
Eros looks around, her grip tightening around her trusted bow. She wonders if she should call out, but waking the attention of unwanted company does not sound so appealing, she thinks. The temple of Aphrodite does not exactly fill her with trust or optimism, so she continues in, wordlessly, her feet light and silent on the limestone. The temple is in better state than it has been before, though, the pronaos did not look as it once had. It was still sorry to behold, but it felt fitting.  
As she enters the naos, her ears pick up on a sound. There is another presence here and she halts, eyes darting to spot who is hiding. "Reveal yourself," she demands, "lest you incur misfortune from vexing me. My day has been long already and I will not suffer any obstacles."  
  
A pause.  
  
"You speak well. You almost sound like one of us."  
  
Eros glares in the direction of the voice. The shape is familiar. "Bastareus," she nearly hisses and feels a surge of anger at seeing him here. It bodes ill. "What are you doing here?"  
  
The King sneers at her, and laughs boldly, perhaps foolishly. "I received word from Illyria that you had left there suddenly, mysteriously rid of all your wounds. So naturally, I travelled here, to keep an eye out, should you somehow, for some reason, come here."  
  
His appearance and behaviour annoys her and she swallows back her anger. "Now I know that there is something for me here, and you will step aside."  
  
"You may be divine, but you are a fool if you think I will just let you claim her. She is _my_ treasure. Mine, and no one elses."  
  
"It is _you_ who are the fool, considering Psyche, your daughter, my love, a trinket that can be claimed and owned. I, we, approached you, with good and open hearts, wishing nothing but to be joined harmoniously and respectfully - but you have soured everything with your obstinacy and complete disregard and disrespect for your daughter's happiness. I will not suffer you any longer. You will stand aside. Last warning." Eros readies her bow, not completely willing to harm the man that gave life to her lover.  
  
Bastareus laughs again, confidently. "What are you going to do? Shoot me with your arrows? Your little love magic won't work on me. You may have tainted my daughter with your godly tricks, but not me."  
  
Eros smirks a little behind her bow, her aim pointed at the King's face. "An arrow through the eye and into your skull will still be deadly," she warns. "So stand down, old man. I do not wish to harm you, but if I need to, I will." Her face is grim and serious. She recalls the day she first met him, her heart filled with love and hope and nothing but joy, only to have the King's rage crush her dream. Her's and Psyche's dream.  
  
The man does not move, his grin growing wider. He would have her punished for not addressing him properly, but the punishment was not his to distribute today. He puts his hands to his waist, eyes encouraging her, taunting her to do her worst. Anguished, Eros releases the arrow and it flies quick and true, until the last moment when it is flicked away by an unseen force. Eros gapes and looks around to see what could have disturbed the course of her arrow so.  
  
"Is this the temple of Death? I think not."  
  
That voice. That smooth, haunting, infuriating voice that has aggravated Eros so many times. Unmistakable. Aphrodite. She lowers her bow, defeated, and sighs. "Mother."  
  
The Goddess appears somewhere to the King's side and he seems to be not at all shaken by it, or humbled. Eros' eyes narrow. Annoyed once more, she quickly brings up her bow and fires another arrow at the King, only to see it dissolve into goose feathers. She lets out a grunt and glares at Aphrodite.  
  
"Now, now. We can all be civilised here." Her smile makes Eros want to see if her fist can't make it disappear from her face.  
  
"Mother, tell me you two have not formed an alliance against me."  
  
"My daughter, please." She leans toward the King. "Our children, curse them, always breaking our hearts." Her words seem to make the King uncomfortable for a fleeting moment, but they still seem to be a team.  
  
Eros bolts forward, intending to continue into the temple and find Psyche and free her from the sleeping curse. Whatever happens, will happen, and she will handle it when it does - but right now, she has had her fill of this excuse of a King, and her Mother. She doesn't get far before Aphrodite blocks her path.  
  
"I'm sorry, my sweet, but I can't let you enter the adyton." She smiles sweetly and Eros could scream.  
  
"She's in there. Let me go to her. She is cursed and-"  
  
Aphrodite shushes her softly and nods. "I know she's cursed."  
  
Eros looks at her, surprised. She follows her mother's glance over at the King, and he suddenly looks like a sold out man. The betrayal flashes in his eyes, but it is brief. Eros looks at her mother again. "What did you do? What did you two do?!" she asks, stepping back and readying her bow again, out of anger.  
  
The King has found his obnoxious and bold composure again, but also seems angered. "I did what I had to do! To protect her! To stop her from making a mistake, a crime against what is natural. I couldn't let her tie herself to you, to a, a... to a charlatan! A seducer of the innocent. Leading my daughter to promiscuity! Tainting my kingdom with-"  
  
"Let us not spend _all_ our negative adjectives, shall we? You are, after all, speaking to my daughter," Aphrodite interrupts the seething King.  
  
The King is stuttering with sudden rage, but quiets a little after he is given a moment to consider the repercussions of angering Aphrodite. Meanwhile, Eros is struggling to understand how these two could have possibly done this horrible thing to Psyche.  
  
"When she tried to murder me... that was the curse you put on her? The sleeping curse... I was told that was Persephone's doing...You cursed your own daughter?! You would have her commit murder?! You are the sick one!"  
  
"Am I sick from shielding my daughter from a perverse deity?" he snaps, spit flying from his lips.  
  
"Shielding her from _Love_!" Eros yells, eyes staring into the King, but finds no chance of him understanding. "But you are too bent on seeing our love as wrong. It is hopeless to reason with you."  
  
Aphrodite interrupts them, after having observed their argument. She is about to speak, when Eros cuts her off prematurely. "And you. My own mother. You aided him. You gave him that curse. You couldn't even be on my side? What have I done to make you stand against me like this?"  
  
The stunning Goddess, previously calm was now suddenly mad. "You broke your code. Your oath. Your _only_ task!" She shouts, and Eros can only stare at her, bewildered, not understanding, so she continues, exasperated. "You fell in love! With a mortal! You are supposed to make mortals fall in love with _each other_ , not seize one for your own enjoyment!"  
  
Eros blinks, not believing what she's hearing and her mother's complete failure to see the double-standard here. "You are rich, mother. _Ankhises_. _Boutes_. _Phaethon_. Must I go on?" Aphrodite looks upset and perhaps a little ashamed, but Eros knows better than to mistake her mother being a poor loser for shame. She clearly has no concept of it. Eros considers the match won. "This is not about me falling in love. This is about who Psyche is. What she is. What I am, and what she is, and _what we are_." She glares between her mother and Psyche's father. "I reject your judgment, whether you be mortal, a god or my mother. Blessed am I who can feel what I feel, this thing, that is beyond even us Olympians. Now, the two of you will both stand down and let me go to Psyche, or need I remind you who my father is, and what he will do to those who have wronged against his daughter? Test my patience and I will show you both, and I will not need my father. That is a promise."  
  
Aphrodite did not think Eros would know, or expose her liasons with mortal men - and she really did not care to bring Ares into all this. That man is a bully and a menace, but extremely attractive, and also exceedingly protective of Eros. Aphrodite is not too keen on upsetting him - she's had her fill of that. She backs away, for now.  
  
Her yielding unnerves the King and he stares at her, stuttering. "Don't you dare leave me now, you-" he is interrupted by Aphrodite turning him into a mule. He brays at her and she rolls her eyes before vanishing. Eros looks at the mule, a hint of smug victory on her face before she dashes off to the adyton.  
  
In the middle of the small room, on an elevated stone table, lies Psyche on a red throw, with pillows around her. Tearful, Eros bolts forward and grabs Psyche, gently, looking for a sign of life, or a sign of what to do next. She touches the princess' face as she gazes fretfully down upon her. "Psyche," she whispers, before lightly shaking Psyche by the shoulders. It has no effect. "I don't know what to do. I'm here, and I see you and I long to hold you, but you're trapped in this cursed sleep."  
  
"My sweet, she is twice cursed. Just let her be. She's a mortal. She's not divine like us. One curse, she could survive, maybe. But two? Eros, be reasonable. Let's go home. Leave her behind."  
  
Crying, Eros whips her head around. "No, mother! I will not leave her to this fate. I love her. I have never loved another, and if sitting here with her like this is the only way to be with her, I will sit here forever. I will never return home if I cannot be with her."  
  
"You're a fool," says Aphrodite. "I know a little about frolicking with mortals - it's never love. It's carnal. animalistic, often wonderfully exciting, but my dear daughter, it is not true love. You're an Olympian. We have our ways, mortals have theirs. They do not cross. Come home, Eros. Be finished playing with humans." Without any goodbyes, Aphrodite left once more.  
  
"True love..." Eros whispers, recalling Elpis' words before they parted. "It has to be true love..." she faces the sleeping Psyche and inhales slowly before she leans down and kisses her gently on the lips. As she lifts her head up, after a few moments, she looks down on that peaceful, sleeping face of her lover, waiting for something to happen - waiting to see if she's right. In the next moment, Psyche's eyes flutter open and for a brief moment, all is beautiful and right again and Eros manages to smile tearfully.  
However, the bliss ends too soon, as Psyche's serene face becomes steely and her eyes darken. Eros' heart sinks and she straightens up, readying herself for whatever happens.  
  
"Psyche, it's me, Eros," she pleads uselessly and her moment of weakness is turned to horror as Psyche bolts up and reaches over Eros' shoulder, grabbing an arrow from her quiver. Eros twists her torso away, but to no avail, and Psyche stabs at her with the arrow, but Eros manages to get a hold of Psyche's wrist, stopping her. The women stuggle, one determined to kill and the other determined to save. "Psyche," she breathes out, desperate to get through to her lover, but there is only murder on Psyche's mind. Eros cannot die by a mortal hand, but a cursed hand? There is no way of knowing what could happen.  
  
"I love you. I will always love you. Forgive me." Eros ends the struggle by showing her true strength. She overpowers Psyche, and sobs as the arrow pierces Psyche's chest and penetrates her heart. Eros cries out in agony and a sickening gasp falls from Psyche's lips in those last moments of life, but before she falls dead, a pulse shakes them both. A golden light seems to burst from Psyche's limp body and she gasps again, this time, with life.  
  
The women stare at each other for a second, processing the last few moments, before they throw their arms around each other, both sobbing into the other's neck.  
"I'm so sorry!" cries Psyche, her body shaking. Her apology seems to cause Eros to shake as well, but she is laughing.  
  
"It's fine!" she says and squeezes Psyche before she leans back to look at her, touching her face to make sure this is real. "You're alive!" Tears of joy stain her face, and she cannot stop laughing through the last remains of her sobbing.  
  
Confused, but willing to wait before she asks questions, Psyche is bursting to speak what she's wanted to say for so long. What she hasn't been able to say since that peaceful sunset, by the lake, in the forest, where they made their own vows to each other.  
  
"I love you," she croaks through whimpers mixed with shaking breaths of happiness and relief.  
  
I love you too," Eros exclaims before pulling Psyche in for an amorous kiss.  
  
When they part, Psyche's eyes open to find Elpis is watching them, smiling. The princess smiles immediately and it causes Eros to turn her head. The three women laugh softly, sharing a happy moment.  
  
"I knew you would find a way," Elpis says to Eros.  
  
"Then you knew more than I did," she replies, taking Psyche's hand in her own. She looks at her love, shaking her head. "But I don't understand what happened."  
  
"It was true love," replies Psyche, before Elpis can. She sounds almost unbelieving, but also like all hope has been restored in her soul. "I was so scared - I thought, that because of what I did, you would not love me, or forgive me."  
  
"But Eros never stopped loving you. I knew she could save you, if she just trusted it, and let hope guide her." Elpis says wisely. Eros looks up at the spirit, still a little confused. Elpis continues. "That was Persephone's mistake. True love's kiss would break the curse, but she relied to heavily on Psyche's attack on you to have severed your love." Both Eros and Psyche grin and Psyche rests her head on Eros shoulder for a bit. "I am relieved to see she was wrong," Elpis says finally.  
  
"I have a last questions" Eros starts. "The kiss, I understand, broke the sleeping curse - but what about the first curse. The murdering curse? How was that broken?"  
  
"Well..." Elpis begins, seemingly unwilling to continue answering, but her sudden smile sheds any worry that might arise. "I visited Zeus... I told him what was going on, and discussed with him how it could be set straight. A murdering curse is not as easily broken with a simple kiss, as it is undoubtedly hard to find the chance to kiss someone who is trying to kill you - but we came up with a...sort of original way to bypass it."  
  
"I don't understand," says Psyche, blinking.  
  
Elpis smiles. "An act of true love can be more than just a kiss. Eros's choice was made with true love's intent."  
  
"But... It should have killed me." Psyche looks at the arrow on the floor, still covered in her blood. She looks at Elpis. "Why didn't I die?"  
  
Elpis picks up the arrow. "That's because... Zeus, the all-powerful, granted me permission to lace the arrows with ambrosia."  
  
The soft gasp from Eros and the following pause causes Psyche to look between the other two, in wonder and with a bit of worry.  
"What is Ambrosia?"  
  
"Ambrosia," Eros starts softly, beginning to smile widely and touches a hand to Psyche's cheek, "grants immortality. It is a nectar of the gods."  
  
Psyche's eyes widen. "Wait... am I.." Eros nods. Elpis, too. "Immortal?"  
  
Eros nods even more, brushing her thumb against Psyche's temple affectionately. "You're like me now."  
  
Its a lot to take in, going from being cursed, twice, to being divine. She touches her hand to her forehead, feeling a little overwhelmed, earning soft laughs from Elpis and Eros.  
  
However, Eros finds another question gnawing at her mind. She addresses Elpis. "Wait, so if Aphrodite hadn't... then the King would have...?" The thought of how wrong things could have gone makes her shudder.  
  
Elpis nods. "But you know that everything that is meant to happen, happens. "  
  
Psyche has had a few moments to gather her thoughts, but something in Eros' words capture her attention. "Aphrodite? The king...my father?"  
  
"I'll take my leave now. You two have much to talk about." Elpis gives them a last smile before leaving, suddenly, like always.  
  
Psyche looks at Eros with curiosity. She has a lot of questions.  
  
Eros takes both of Psyche's hands in her own and nods. "There is a lot you need to know. Starting with your father."  
  


***

  
  
"That.... is my father?" Psyche points at the mule, and Eros isn't sure if her voice sounds surprised or horrified or amused. Probably all three.  
  
"Mhm."  
  
"And he...cursed me? The first time?"  
  
Eros nods, eyeing the mule, who is eating some hay. Must be her mother's doing.  
  
"Was he a mule when he cursed me?"  
  
Eros laughs, shaking her head. "Uh no. That happened just recently."  
  
" _How_ recent?"  
  
"Half an hour?"  
  
Psyche gapes. "He was here?"  
  
"Mm. Tried to stop me from getting to you. He put the curse on you, with Aphrodite's help, to keep us apart, but then mother-"  
  
"Wait, your mother was here? I thought it was _Aphrodite_ who..."  
  
Eros tried to grin apologetically, failing. The look on Psyche's face as she pieced things together was amusing, but also alarming. This could go not so well.  
  
"Aphrodite is your mother?!"  
  
She nods slowly, apologetically. "Yep." Psyche looks a mix between frustrated, scared and enraged. "It's not exactly something I like to brag about! I'm sorry... I should have said it sooner. Had I known she was using you..."  
  
Psyche sighs, going through a mental battle of letting go. Aphrodite had been horrible to her. This was hard to swallow, but on the upside, she had all the time in the world to get over it now. "Nevermind it now. I'll work on it. We didn't know it would come to this, either of us."  
  
Eros smiles and kisses Psyche, softly. "And now we're together. That's all that matters."  
  
Psyche nods, but the braying of the mule, her father, causes her attention to be drawn to the poor animal. "What do we do with him?" She looks at Eros, hoping the other woman has any idea, but Eros shrugs and shakes her head. Psyche looks at the mule. "I suppose he should go home..."  
  
"He found his way here, he'll find his way back." Eros waved her hand at the animal and it made a last parting sound before it trotted off, out of the temple. Psyche looks concerned at Eros. "Don't worry. He'll be safe at home soon." She puts her arm around Psyche and both of the women look out, through the pillars, toward the horizon, the colours of the setting sun filling the temple with a warm glow.


End file.
